Christmas in the USA
by MultipleCyrosis
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia are friends. Best friends, but strictly platonic. High school finishes, and they plan a trip to the US, both for different reasons. Ichigo, for a holiday, and Rukia...for love. [AU][IchiRuki]
1. Graduation

**AN: **Hey all. I guess you could call this my Christmas contribution to Bleach. It may be obvious, but this is an alternate universe, partly inspired after getting sick of IchiRuki fanfics where they hate each other for like 50 chapters, and then it turns to love. So, now, I'm making them friends. **Anyway, expect OOC**. Originally this storyline was meant for a Naruto cast, but what the hey. It works with Bleach as well, so, here goes.

Anyway in this story, they graduate in December, even though they are in Japan. So please don't give me a review saying that they don't graduate in December, because I already know.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach

- - -

**Christmas in the USA: Graduation**

**- - -**

They were friends. Best friends, in fact, though it wasn't really something they told each other. That would be too mushy. And the both of them were _not _mushy. Ichigo, being a guy, wasn't really into that romantic, lovey-dovey, deep-and-meaningful relationship type stuff. Rukia, although she was a girl, didn't really follow the crowd when it came to 'girly-stuff'. Sure, she dressed like a girl, had hair like a girl, but she just didn't act all 'girly'. Which was just as well, because then she and Ichigo probably wouldn't be as good friends as they were today.

She had pondered about it before, and had come to the conclusion that Ichigo just didn't 'click' with girly-girls. This, she had deducted from observing Ichigo with another girl in their class, Orihime. She was a nice girl, and Rukia didn't know why Ichigo didn't like her. She was the epitome of the female species; a nicely curved body (which Rukia was jealous of), a bubbly personality, and a sweet naivety that sent most guys into fits of joy. _Most _guys. Ichigo obviously wasn't included in that category of _most _since it didn't seem to affect him at all. It really must be his personality, she had thought, as he got along quite well with Tatsuki.

"Hey. Nervous?" She recognized his voice.

She looked up. And really did have to look up. They had known each other since they had been kids, and they had stayed relatively the same height. Until the end of primary school when Rukia was taller than him for about (this was a commonly argued topic) four-and-a-half months. Ichigo had said that she was only taller than him for a few weeks _and _not even by that much.

It didn't really matter, since as high school hit, the guy-hormones kicked in, and brought Ichigo to his current height, where he towered over her.

She stood up straight, pushing herself away from the wall she was leaning on, to bring herself up to her full height.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Give it up, Rukia. You'll _never _become taller than me."

She pouted. Maybe…just maybe. "No, I'm not nervous. Why would I be nervous on graduation day?" she said, answering his earlier question, also cleverly deviating from the argument that she knew she would always lose.

"Dunno," her friend shrugged. "You seemed a bit…like daydreaming."

She shot him a smile. "I was."

"About?"

"Stuff," she paused. For some reason she didn't feel like telling him that she had been daydreaming about their relationship together. Even though he probably knew her well enough that he could probably make a pretty good guess of what she was thinking about. She changed the subject. "I'm excited."

Ichigo rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, yeah. We'll be in America soon." He patted her on the head, an action which he did occasionally to either annoy her or as an endearing something; after all, she was his best friend. "Even if it is for a bad cause," he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that, Kurosaki Ichigo," she said sternly.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "What? We're going to find some stupid guy –"

"He is not stupid."

"Ok, well, _it's _stupid that we –"

He was cut off by the teacher. "Hey you two, it's almost time. Shush."

- - -

Their argument was forgotten, as they proceeded to walk down the centre aisle, midst the clapping and cheering of friends and family. Today was _their _day. They had suffered nearly thirteen years of schooling, just for this day. It better be good.

It wasn't, really. Quite boring. But, still Ichigo listened to it all; the principle's address, the guest speaker, and even Ishida's speech as the school captain (which was quite good, though he refused to admit it to himself).

He thought he might as well listen to it. It was his last day wearing this damn uniform anyway. It finished before he knew it, he had his graduation certificate, his report card, and was content. He had achieved high marks, and was satisfied. He was happy, but he didn't show it as much as Rukia.

She had come out of the hall jumping and squealing for joy. Ichigo shook his head, even though a small smile crept up on his face. Well, he didn't know what she was so happy about – he already knew from experience that her grades would be reasonable, but the way she was carrying on, it was like she thought school was the worst invention of mankind.

Well, he would be slightly sad when leaving the school. He had made some pretty good friends over the years. He watched as Rukia made her way to a group of girls, and jumped when a heavy hand landed on his shoulders.

"Ichigo! Now that you've finished school, you can get married to Rukia!"

Ichigo sighed. "Dad –"

He was cut off by his little sister, Karin. "Don't worry about that old geezer, Ichigo."

"What? I'm an old geezer now?" protested their dad.

"Karin!"

"What, Yuzu?" Karin replied in a bored tone.

"You shouldn't say such mean things to Daddy!"

"Yes! Don't say such mean things to me," added the older man, hiding behind his other daughter.

"Yeah, yeah."

Ichigo managed a small laugh. This was his family. There was no mum, because their mother had died when Ichigo was still very small. Things were different then, just as they were different now. But somehow, they had managed – their dad, even though he acted like an idiot most times, ran a medical clinic, and received quite a lot of money from that.

They carried on with life, though it was hard on the kids. It had been hard on him, as well, but it wouldn't do for him to break down while he had two little sisters to look after. He had made it through somehow, with his friends now – especially Rukia. She had stood by his side the whole time, and for that he was eternally grateful. His other friends had helped, in one way or another.

With that thought in mind, he dumped his report card and the rest of his gifts and certificates on his dad, and went to join his other friends. They were standing in a large circle, chatting animatedly about what they were going to do, now that they had finished school. Some were going away to holiday at some island resort, others were going to work straight away, and still others were going to university.

"So, Kurosaki, what are _you _going to do now?"

Ichigo looked at the speaker. Uryuu Ishida. He held a strange respect for the guy, though he annoyed the hell out of him. But since it was the end of school, he figured he might as well be nice.

"Well, I –"

"We're going to America!" interrupted Rukia. She had evidently stopped talking to the other girls, and had come to talk to Ichigo. Bad timing, really. The rest of the group gaped, while Ishida merely pushed his glasses further up his nose, smiling slightly.

Ichigo groaned. He didn't mean to withhold it from his friends, nor were they in the dark about him and Rukia being best friends. It was just that, recently, he had started to feel uncomfortable whenever someone asked him about his relationship with Rukia, even if it wasn't a new question. He had endured all their stupid questions ever since primary school, but for some reason _now _it had seemed more…penetrating.

"Are you going…alone?" asked Keigo in a trembling voice.

"Yes!" Rukia answered happily, while Ichigo looked up at the sky.

"Ohhh…" said the whole group in unison, mischievous looks flickering across their faces.

"So…are you and Ichigo going to do…anything?" continued Keigo slyly, earning a glare from the orange-head.

"Anything?" Rukia asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

"You know," said the other boy, nudging her. The others laughed, except for Ichigo, who was getting angrier by the second. However, he didn't say anything because a part of him (just a small part) was curious as to what she would say.

"Oh. _That_," she said with understanding in her voice. "You're such a pervert Keigo. You know Ichigo and I aren't like _that_. We're just friends."

Before anyone else could add in a smart comment (which usually happened), Orihime burst in the circle. "Come on, come on! We're taking photos!"

As the group shuffled over to where everyone else was taking pictures, Ichigo stayed where he was. He didn't know why, but her response had shaken him up a bit. Why? What she said was totally true, anyway. They were only _just _friends. They weren't going on this trip with any romantic interest (well, at least in each other).

Then why did he feel something abnormal near his chest area? He couldn't possibly be _hurt _by her response, now, could he?

- - -

"Oh…these pictures turned out really good!" Rukia exclaimed excitedly. Ichigo rolled over to see what she was talking about. Her bed was, as usual, soft. Damn these rich people.

He was over at her house, as after graduation there really wasn't anything to do. Besides, they lived across the road from each other, so they often visited each other. So here he was, over at her place watching her watching photos on her laptop. On her bed. While there was no one home.

Which was perfectly normal, even though it probably didn't sound normal to anyone else. Ever since they were kids, whenever they slept over at each other's places, they slept in the same bed. For a few reasons – and Ichigo's parents hadn't minded. Rukia's parents, or rather, _parent _didn't mind either.

In Ichigo's opinion, he was the nicest guy alive. But he wasn't Rukia's real father. Rukia had been adopted at the age of three months, when her mother had died while giving birth, and her father had died of a broken heart shortly after.

Jushiro Ukitake took the girl in, since she had no family that would take her. No one wanted an extra burden. Usually, adoption agencies would question the matter of a single man taking care of a child, but Ukitake was a highly influential business man, who definitely had enough funds to take care of the girl. Besides, anyone who knew the man, knew that he was fair and just in everything he did. No one dared to question his 'mothering' skills.

Which was the reason the two friends stayed over at each other's places so often. Ukitake, although providing Rukia's bare necessities (and a lot more) could not provide a family, something that Ichigo possessed.

Most of the time they felt comfortable together, even while lying on the same bed. Though sometimes Ichigo found it rather awkward, as they got very close, closer than what a boy or girl, who were in a strictly platonic relationship should be.

Like now, for instance. He had rolled over so that he was watching while she browsed though the photos she had taken earlier that day. And he could smell her hair. Her familiar scent.

"Cool," he said, before rolling back over onto his back.

Rukia jumped on him. "Hey!" she complained. "You only watched for like, three seconds!"

"I'm tired," he mumbled, trying to ignore that she was leaning over his chest. Remember, she did say that they were _just _friends. Best friends. Nothing more, right? "Besides, I need some rest before tonight's party."

Rukia hopped off, and Ichigo silently thanked whatever god was watching over him. "You're no fun," she pouted, but left him alone while she continued to look at the pictures.

After a few moments of trying to get some sleep (and failing), he rolled over on his side and watched as Rukia studied every photo intently, as if they were going to disappear forever after she pressed the next button.

He smiled a soft smile, though it became obvious he was unaware of it when Rukia turned to look at him.

"What?" she said, turning slightly pink. "I thought you were going to sleep." What the hell was he looking at her like that for? That was…weird, to say the least.

"Oh…yeah." With that, Ichigo buried his burning face in the pillow. After all, he _did _need some sleep before that stupid party. He wouldn't even be going, if it weren't for Rukia pleading with him to come.

At the thought of Rukia, he felt his face burn up again, and he squeezed his eyes shut, willing sleep to come.

- - -

**AN: **There! How do you like it? Reviews are much loved and appreciated. I'm on this project…pretty much just to try and get back into the habit of writing again. As you already know, I haven't updated my other stories in a while…though trust me, I want to. It's just that…when I write something, I can either force myself to write, and then it turns out crap, or it just flows out from me. That's what I want. Unfortunately it's not coming, so…please bear with me. Thank you very much!


	2. Party

**AN: **Yo, thanks all you awesome, awesome reviewers. Giving me inspiration to write…even for other fics. As for other fics, by the way…some of you have been asking about A Summer Job…um…hopefully (not making any promises) this week I should be able to get something down.

Also the legal drinking age in Japan is 20. I know in this story there are a lot of culturally wrong…ideas that I'm implanting…but just deal with it please. So in this story, the legal drinking age will be 18.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach

- - -

**Christmas in the USA: Party**

**- - -**

Loud. That's what he didn't like about parties. The loud music. Sure he appreciated the good tune every now and then, but booming in his ears like this… He sighed, as he picked up his glass. It was punch. He wasn't drinking for a few reasons. One was that he was to drive Rukia back home, and the other was that he wanted to keep an eye on Rukia.

He wasn't a big fan of drinking anyway. He was very susceptible to hangovers. Then again, that didn't stop others, such as Matsumoto. Rukia didn't drink. She had turned eighteen early this year (she was older than him by about two months) and had asked (demanded) him to watch over her while she first tasted alcohol.

It was quite fortunate that she did ask him to look after her, because it turned out that she was extremely alcohol intolerant. Cutting a long story short, it lead to Rukia asking some very personal questions – which thankfully she didn't remember. Ichigo did.

- - -

"Ichigooooooo!" Rukia cried, even though he was right next to her. Ichigo winced. So this was what she was like when she was drunk. Thankfully no one was at their place.

"Shh," he hissed, even though he knew she would keep going.

"Why?" she pouted, looking up at him with big watery eyes. Ichigo turned away, embarrassed.

"Because," he said, not looking at her.

"Why?" she persisted, scooting around to face him.

They were sitting on the floor of her spacious bedroom, and Ukitake had gone away on a business trip, straight after Rukia's birthday. She had been eighteen for about a day, and she had confessed to him that she really wanted to see what it was about alcohol that was so good.

So, here they were, a day after her birthday, with an assortment of alcoholic beverages. She didn't actually need the assortment; after one glass she had started that weird way of talking.

And asking very personal questions.

Like now.

"You know," Rukia said slowly.

"What?" Ichigo answered roughly, cross because he couldn't look away since she was right in front of him.

"There are times I see you looking at me…"

Ichigo gulped. Calm down, he told himself. She's just drunk. Then again, these hidden feelings did come out when people were in this state.

"And that's unnatural because?" he answered slowly.

"No, no, no," she shook her head harder than necessary. "It's like…" she started…then stopped.

It was only then did Ichigo realise that he was hanging onto her every word. "Like?" he repeated.

"Like…you're _really _looking at me. Um…" she placed her finger on her chin and looked up at the ceiling. "Checking me out."

Ichigo swallowed. _What?_

Then she laughed. "But as if you would do that," she said as a somewhat sad expression passed over her face.

Ichigo bit his lower lip and moved closer to her. Dare he? Kissing her would either totally ruin their relationship, or change it drastically, whether good or bad he didn't know. Either way, it was certain that any physical contact between them while she was in this state would transform their relationship.

Ichigo pulled back. He wasn't going to kiss her when she was like this. It just wasn't right.

- - -

Loud laughter interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to see a large circle of people standing around someone…Rukia?

He panicked, and made his way to the crowd. Sure enough, in the centre was Rukia, making a variety of 'funny' faces to the circle. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, though it was obvious she was drunk. He quickly took her by the hand and led her away from the party, ignoring the surprised looks from everyone.

"Hey," he hissed, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I thought you weren't supposed to get drunk?"

"I'm…I'm not," she protested, even though Ichigo could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"What did you drink?" he asked, ignoring her earlier protest.

"I was just…standing at the table drinking… juice."

Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment. Everyone in their grade knew that Rukia didn't drink, so it was obvious that someone had given her something to drink telling her it was juice to get a laugh out of it.

"Who gave you it?" he asked, his voice quietly under control. _Everyone _knew.

"Um...Jack."

Ichigo straightened up, his face suddenly becoming cold. "Wait here. _Don't _move."

Jack Jaggers, more commonly known as Grimmjaw, due to the sneer he wore continually, showing his gleaming white teeth. Ichigo didn't really have anything against the guy, but now, he had a bone to pick with him. That bastard.

He pushed roughly past the crowd, making a clear, straight line path towards the taller student. He was sitting at one of the set up bar tables, chatting with one of his friends.

Ichigo tapped him on the back, unaware that most of the people at the party were watching him. He apparently didn't know that by pushing through the main dancing area with a rather heavy aura, he attracted a lot of stares.

"Hey. Did you give Rukia a drink?" Ichigo asked as the other student turned around.

"Oh. Ichigo. Yeah, it was funny, wasn't it?" he said as he took a sip from his glass.

"Hilarious," Ichigo replied in a dead tone. He made as if to walk away, but suddenly turned around and smashed his fist into the other boy's face. The force knocked Grimmjaw onto the floor, his glass shattering onto the ground. The party was silent. Even the DJ was kind enough to turn off the music.

Ichigo stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists, waiting to see if Grimmjaw would get up. When he didn't, Ichigo turned away. He was so furious that he couldn't see the astonished gaze of the crowd on him, then to Grimmjaw, and then to him again.

"It was only a joke," he heard a voice behind him say. "Why the hell does it matter to you?"

Ichigo turned around just as Grimmjaw had pulled himself up. Taking two quick steps forward, he punched him in the stomach, making him double over. Grabbing his collar with his left hand, he pulled the taller boy off the ground and with a short side step connected his fist with the famous jaw.

Blood spurted in the air, and everyone moved back as Grimmjaw hit the ground and slid across the dance floor.

- - -

Ichigo massaged his swollen wrist. After the fight, he had taken Rukia home. She had sobered down a fair bit after watching Ichigo…well, beat the crap out of Grimmjaw. Not much was said in the car, though Rukia had gladly complied with Ichigo as he took her hand at the party as a signal to leave. After coming to her senses, she didn't exactly want to stay.

After taking a quick shower, she lay on her bed, watching Ichigo sit on a chair in her bedroom, looking at anywhere but her.

"Hey," she said quietly.

Ichigo looked up, raising his eyebrows.

"Thanks."

"It's fine."

A pause. "But you should really be a bit more alert," he said, concern framing his sentence. "What if I wasn't there?"

"I can take care of myself," she retorted, immediately feeling guilty. But it wasn't as if it was her fault she got drunk.

"Not if you're drunk," he replied, just as quickly.

"I didn't exactly want to," she said, but quieter this time.

Silence.

"I…" Ichigo started. "I know." He looked up at the ceiling. "I was just…worried about you."

"I know. Thanks," she said, getting off the bed and taking his swollen wrist in her hands. "We should probably get some ice on that. Wait here."

In a normal house, the fridge would be in the kitchen, but Ukitake had spent a lot of money refurbishing the four-bedroom house. He had carpenters install doors between two of the already-large bedrooms, to make a sort of 'living room' connected to Rukia's bedroom. In her personal living room she had couches, a widescreen plasma TV, a fridge, and a kitchen, though the kitchen was only installed lately, since Ukitake didn't trust Rukia's cooking skills until recently.

The door slid open, and Rukia appeared with a drying cloth and an ice pack. Ichigo held out his hand as Rukia knelt in front of him.

As she wrapped the drying cloth around his wrist carefully, she said gently, "You might have gone a bit far there."

Ichigo forced a laugh. He could still feel the rage boiling inside of him. "He'll live."

She placed the icepack on top of his wrist. "Ichigo, it's ok. It was just his stupid little joke." She searched his eyes for a response. "And you were there right?"

At that his eyes softened. "Yeah."

Rukia felt like laughing at his over-protectiveness. It was as if he was her dad. She got up and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "We should probably sleep. We need to pack tomorrow."

"Yeah, you go ahead," Ichigo said, not moving from his seat.

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "Something still wrong?" she sighed.

"No…its just…I haven't changed since the party. I feel smelly."

Rukia grinned inwardly. This was the Ichigo she knew. She wrinkled her nose. "You are smelly. Go take a shower."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'll be back then."

"Ok. Remember to take the keys," she called as she got into her bed.

"Yep," he replied as he walked out the door.

- - -

His house was quiet and dark. Everyone had fallen asleep long ago, he thought as he checked his watch. Half-past one. He tried to make as little noise as possible as he grabbed a towel and stepped into the shower.

He felt the sticky feeling of the party wash off him as the hot water pounded on his shoulders. He let out a sigh. There was still something bothering him. He closed his eyes and listened to Grimmjaw's taunt.

"_It was only a joke," he heard a voice behind him say. "Why the hell does it matter to you?"_

There was quite a good reason why it mattered to him. Because he loved her.

It was that simple. Funny though, since he often was the one who scorned love, especially Rukia's. She had had her share of boyfriends, and none of them had worked out. Every time he had been there to comfort her through her tears, he had always heard a small voice inside of him telling him to do _something _about it. But he had suppressed that voice telling himself that it was utterly ridiculous that _he_, a best friend, should pursue her as a romantic interest.

Now with school over, it seemed like it didn't matter anymore. It was as if his feelings just presented themselves in front of his face. And there was nothing he could do about it.

He turned off the shower, and stepped out. He would tell her. On this trip. And she would forget about that _other _guy. And she would tell him that she had loved him all along, and it would be a happy ending after all. They would leave the USA content, and not giving a damn about that _other _guy.

Ichigo frowned. How come that _other _guy was always making his way into his fantasies about Rukia. He had known Rukia well enough that she wouldn't go crazy over someone just like that. Even with her previous boyfriends, one of the main reasons why they had broken up with her was that they didn't feel 'loved'. Ichigo knew this, because he had questioned each and everyone of her previous boyfriends. In private. Some walked away with serious wounds.

But this guy – she had been gushing about him since the day she had met him. That was two years ago. And Ichigo could swear she was still as obsessed now, over that stupid guy. Not that Ichigo had actually met him.

But he remembered that day vividly. Because that was the only day in his life that he had decided to confess to her.

- - -

**AN: **Hey all. Hope you like this new update. I'll try get my other stories updated too. Thanks for reviewing. Much appreciated.


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